Carradale Harbour on Kintyre

The rain was forecast and so it came, in torrents, not what we would have wanted but contingency plans slipped into action from early in the morning. With an hour to go before start time the Village Hall, our backup location, was buzzing with activity. A team of volunteers was working hard in the car park despite the drenching they were receiving and two large marquees had been erected in no time at all giving us some dry space for the barbeque and the bar. Sadly the poor weather meant that the canoeists were unable to entertain us as planned but as midday approached it began to look like we still had a Harbour Day.

The crowds were soon pouring through the doors, dripping wet but undaunted in enthusiasm, and there were pirates everywhere, young and older.

 

 

The big event of the day was the dog show which was judged this year by none other than Homer Simpson himself. Ever popular this proved to be a great success and the dogs behaved impeccably despite the crowds crammed in around them. Here are just a few of the entries…

Immense gratitude goes to all who helped out and made the day such a great success. What a team!

Many more pictures can be found on the Harbour Facebook page.

It has been many years since Carradale had a Harbour Day so nobody knew quite what to expect. In the end success was in the hands of the weather gods who thankfully smiled on us for most of the day.

By midday we had all the stalls set up and people began to arrive, then more, and then more still. Burgers and cakes began to disappear into mouths, drinks were being consumed, tickets for the tombola were moving fast and the treasure hunt squares were filling up.

Young faces painted as wild animals appeared here and there and strange piratical types brandishing cutlasses loitered about, without anyone really paying much attention!

 

The sun shone down on us all, swelling the crowds as the day progressed.

 

 

Another shipwrecked pirate played us a few jigs on his concertina to get us dancing then before we knew where we were the competition judging started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First it was the turn of the pirates and this scary character took first prize here, then went on to judge the dog show afterwards. (Many thanks John.)

 

 

 

By this time there were dogs everywhere, thankfully mostly well behaved, and soon the competitions got underway – Best dressed dog, Best trick, Wiggliest tail, Most appealing eyes – then finally the grand finale was the Musical Sit.

 

 

 

The musicians took their places in the centre of the parade ring and dogs, with their owners firmly in hand, walked around waiting for the command. Each time the music stopped the last dog to sit dropped out until only one dog and owner were left. First prize went to Star and his highly trained, but very proud, owner Dominic. Well done to you both!

Come the end of the day the food had largely been consumed and Una Semple had won the prize for finding the hidden treasure. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Thanks must go to all the helpers, to those who donated gifts and prizes, to the stallholders and to all those who entered into the spirit of the day. You are all too numerous to mention individually but thanks anyway.

Many more pictures taken at Carradale Harbour Day 2013 can be found on the Carradale Harbour and the  Explore Campbeltown Facebook pages.